Devotionals

God never does evil Himself. He stands behind it indirectly, but He directly stands behind good. The Lord can never be blamed for evil, but evil does not take place apart from His decree. We cannot finally explain how this ...Read More

We see God’s ordination of wickedness for a good end most clearly in the crucifixion. God used the evil plans of Christ’s enemies to fulfill His good plan for His people (Acts 2:23). An evil act is still an evil ...Read More

How familiar are you with the creeds and confessions that your particular church or denomination follows? While these statements of faith are always subject to the final authority of Scripture, they were written to help believers understand what the Bible ...Read More

We who profess the name of Christ must follow Him even when He gives rules we do not like. People who are tempted to commit homosexual acts may not like the call to turn from these deeds, but if they ...Read More

Paul closes out Colossians 3:17 by reminding us to do everything in the name of Jesus. This entails not merely an action accompanied by an audible expression of “in Jesus name”; rather, to do something in His name is to ...Read More

Of all the types of antinomianism, we are perhaps most prone to look for loopholes in the law of God. So, for instance, we may excuse certain behaviors because there is no express command in Scripture against them, even though ...Read More

Scripture is actually a repetitive book, and we have seen a glimpse of this in Colossians 2 as Paul reminds us over and over that our obedience to law can do nothing to free us from evil. The Bible needs ...Read More

Out of His great love for us, God warns His people against legalism and false religious practices because hoping in rules, astrology, and other false spiritualities only gives Satan and the flesh more influence over us. But when we pursue ...Read More

While it is easy to see that heretics are sinning when they look down in judgment on others, it is more difficult to root out that same sin in ourselves, for the basis of our judgment of others may be ...Read More

To say that all we need is Christ for growth in grace is not somehow to make the Word of God, the sacraments, or the church superfluous. Jesus, by His Spirit, dwells in us, but remaining sin means that we ...Read More